The present invention relates to an improvement in the methods used to clean vehicles as they move from often muddy unpaved surfaces such as construction sites and farm fields to hard paved surfaces such as roads and highways. More particularly, this invention relates to a ramp-like apparatus that can be positioned on the border between a paved and unpaved surface. Once so positioned, vehicles passing from the dirt to the pavement can pass over the ramp where their tires and undercarriages can be washed clean of mud and other debris with cleaning fluid stored on the wash ramp.
Off road vehicles, such as construction and farm vehicles often must pass over paved roads when in use. The tires of such vehicles carry dirt, mud and other debris onto the road. The prior art is limited in ways to practically clean the mud and debris off of construction and farm vehicles as they move from the often muddy construction sites and fields to hard paved roads and highways.
This situation is exacerbated in bad weather as rain and snow can turn a dry work site into a wet and muddy work site. These types of conditions create a dangerous and damaging situation as the tires and undercarriages of trucks and other similar equipment leave large areas of mud and other debris on the surface of the road or highway as they leave the work site. The mud deposits create very slippery areas on the highway or road that act as difficult to see unmarked hazards.
Additionally, such mud and debris must be cleaned up or will wash into drainage systems not designed for large volumes of mud and debris, potentially clogging or otherwise damaging such drainage systems. Many regions have regulations making the tracking of dirt onto roads illegal. However, compliance with these regulations is often difficult due to a lack of equipment to facilitate the required clean up
From the forgoing discussion it can be seen that it would be advantageous to provide a method of cleaning the tires and undercarriage of construction and farm vehicles which allows for such maintenance as these vehicles leave the work site and enter public roads and highways. Additionally it would be advantageous to provide such a method of cleaning these vehicles that would allow the mechanism that facilitates this cleaning to be easily transported from one work site to another by commonly used transport vehicles.
It is the primary objective of the present invention to provide a method by which the tires and undercarriages of construction and farm vehicles can be cleaned of the mud and other debris that they pick up while performing their duties in unpaved work sites.
It is an additional objective of the present invention to provide such a method of cleaning the tires and undercarriages which includes a ramp-like apparatus over which the vehicle will be driven while passing from the unpaved work site to the paved road or highway.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide such a ramp-like apparatus for the cleaning of these vehicles which is equipped with a high pressure pump and wand washing component and a storage tank or tanks which are employed to supply water and other cleaning solutions for use by the pump and wand.
It is a still further objective of the present invention to provide such an apparatus for the cleaning of these vehicles which is constructed in a manner in relation to its size and weight that will allows for its easy transportation from one work site to another.
These objectives are accomplished in a preferred embodiment of this invention by the use of a ramp-like apparatus that is constructed from a lattice framework of support rails and cross members which are connected to form a base and a wash platform above the base. This lattice method of construction for the bulk of the present invention is important as it allows most of the mud and debris being washed from the vehicle to fall to the ground below. Additionally, this method of construction provides the base and wash stand with a great deal of strength while also being relatively light weight which enhances the invention""s portability characteristics.
The base and wash platforms are also equipped with a pair of parallel running wheel tracks which roughly correspond in their width and relative position to accommodate the passage of the great majority of these types of vehicles. The outside edge of each wheel track is also equipped with an outer wheel rail which extends up above the surface of the wheel tracks and functions to help keep the wheels, and therefore, the vehicle, in the proper location on the wash platform. Additionally, access to the wash platform is facilitated by the use of the fixed and folding platform ramps which angle up from the surface of the pavement and work site to the level of the upper surface of the wash platform. This design enables a vehicle to easily drive up onto the wash platform for cleaning when exiting a muddy work site or field.
The washing operation is accomplished by the use of an engine and pump combination that draws water and/or a cleaning solvent from one or both of the two storage tanks located on either side of the wash ramp base outside of each of the wheel tracks. The pump pressurizes the fluids drawn from the tanks and sends it to the spray wand through the high pressure hose. The spray wand is the component of the invention which allows the operator not only to control the flow of water or cleaning solution, but also allows the operator to direct this flow to specific areas and components of the vehicle.
Therefore, the present invention is employed to clean the tires and undercarriage of a vehicle leaving a muddy work site by driving the vehicle up onto the wash platform that straddles the border between the unpaved work site and the pavement of the road or highway. Once the vehicle is properly positioned on the wash platform, the driver or other person engages the pump motor which actuates the pump and supplies high pressure water or cleaning solution to the spray wand. The operator then uses the spray wand to direct a high pressure stream of water onto the vehicle which washes the mud off of the tires and undercarriage which then falls through the lattice construction of the base and onto the ground of the work site. The vehicle is then free to enter the paved surface of the road or highway without the danger of depositing mud thereon.